Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2007-08: Christian Folin played for the Frolunda U18 team in Sweden as a 16-year-old — appearing in 33 games including five playoff contests. He scored 3 goals with 10 assists and had 10 penalty minutes during the regular season and was scoreless with 2 penalty minutes in the playoffs. Frolin represented Goteborg in the TV-Pucken tournament for high school players. In eight TV-Pucken games he scored 1 goal with 1 assist and 6 penalty minutes.

2008-09: Folin played for Frolunda’s U20 and U18 teams in his second season with the club. In 17 games with the Frolunda U20 team — including four playoff games — he scored 2 goals with 1 assist and 6 penalty minutes. Folin scored 6 goals with 17 assists and 55 penalty minutes in 27 regular season games for the Frolunda U18 team and scored 1 goal with 3 assists and 6 penalty minutes in seven playoff games. Folin was ranked 139th amongst European skaters in Central Scouting’s final rankings but was not selected in the 2009 NHL Draft.

2009-10: Folin appeared in one men’s league game with Hanhals IF, his hometown club, in Sweden’s second division and played for Frolunda’s U20 team. He scored 1 goal with 1 assist playing for Hanhals IF. Folin scored 3 goals with 16 assists and 22 assists in 38 regular season games and had 3 assists with 20 penalty minutes in five playoff games for the Frolunda U20 team.

2010-11: Originally recruited to play college hockey at Bemidji State, Folin’s first season in North America got off to an inauspicious start when he was traded from the Fargo Force of the USHL to the NAHL’s Austin Bruins and told that he no longer fit in BSU’s future plans. Folin scored 2 goals with 2 assists and was -1 with 6 penalty minutes in 12 games for Fargo. In 33 games with Austin he scored 2 goals with 9 assists and was -4 with 27 penalty minutes. Austin missed the NAHL playoffs; finishing fifth in the Central Division.

2011-12: Folin was one of three Austin defensemen to finish with 30 or more points as the Bruins were one of the NAHL’s top teams in his second season with the club. He scored 11 goals with 20 assists and was +45 with 50 penalty minutes in 54 regular season games and was -1 with 1 assist in two playoff games. Austin finished third in the Central Division. Folin skated for Team Central in the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament and in March he committed to playing college hockey at Massachusetts-Lowell in 2012-13.

2012-13: Folin skated in 38 of 41 games for Massachusetts-Lowell as a freshman and was the second-leading scorer amongst River Hawks defensemen. He scored 6 goals with 15 assists and was +17 with 24 penalty minutes. Massachusetts-Lowell won the Hockey East regular season and playoff championships and captured the NCAA Northeast Regional title to reach the Frozen Four. The River Hawks lost to eventual national champion Yale, 3-2, in overtime in the Frozen Four semifinals.

2013-14: Folin made his NHL debut with the Wild on April 10th against St. Louis following his sophomore season at Massachusetts-Lowell. He had an assist and was +3 in his NHL debut in a 4-2 win against St. Louis. In 41 games for Massachusetts-Lowell he scored 6 goals with 14 assists and was +10 with 31 penalty minutes. The River Hawks captured the Hockey East playoff championship after finishing second to Boston College in the regular season. In the NCAA Northeast Regional they defeated Minnesota State, 2-1, before falling to Boston College, 4-3, in the championship game. Minnesota signed Folin to a two-year entry-level contract on March 31st, 2014.

Talent Analysis

Folin has the prototypical size and mobility to be an effective NHL defenseman. Making the jump directly from college hockey he continues to adapt to the pace of play and bigger, more skilled forwards at the pro level.

Future

Folin made the Wild roster out of training camp and is in his first NHL season in 2014-15. Paired at times with fellow rookie Matt Dumba, he has steadily adapted to the NHL game and has had the ups and downs not uncommon for a rookie defenseman. Long-term he projects as an effective, puck moving defenseman who is strong in his own end.

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Photo: Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba graduated as a prospect this season and has played a big role in his team’s success thus far (courtesy of Brad Rempel/Icon Sportswire)

This has not been a great year of the prospect for the Minnesota Wild. The team arrived at a point in its process where it became ready to compete for the Stanley Cup. This has been somewhat to the detriment of its prospect pool, although any fan will take the tradeoff. Nonetheless, Hockey’s Future makes an annual tradition of handing out some imaginary hardware to players who stood out during the course of their seasons.